7 Ingredients to Ban From Your Bathroom

There are a lot of horrible chemicals out there, in anything from plastic containers, to toothpaste and shampoo. Sometime there's too much information out there. There's almost always a 'bad' ingredient in everything we own, and I often just brush off a lot of the information out there. That's why I love articles like this one...

The 7 Ingredients to Ban From Your Bathroom

Even if you don't eliminate all the products that you use that have these ingredients, a list of 7 is much easier to remember when buying new products than a list of 500.

Read the article, but to sum up... eliminate:

-Parabens

-Phthalates

-Nanoparticles (microfine particles)

-Sodium Lauryl/Laureth Sulfate (SLS)

-Synthetic fragrances

-Diethanolamine (DEA) and Triethanolamine (TEA)

-Diazolidinyl and Imidazolidinyl Urea

Read up!

Thanks Alicia!!

Alicia Silverstone has this amazing blog called The Kind Life (based a lot on the reaction and follow-up to her cookbook/book The Kind Diet on being a vegan... the inspiration for this blogs name!) that both Jay and I follow.

She had this great giveaway paired with EcoTools a while ago... and I won! Isn't winning something just a wonderful thing? It doesn't really matter if it's something large or small, or something you'll use or won't use, winning feels great! Well this... this is something I will definitely use. It was a great makeup bag (or toiletry bag) with a set of eco-friendly "green" makeup brushes. There's a foundation brush, blush brush, angled eyeshadow brush and a lash/brow groomer! I didn't expect eco brushes to feel so luxurious and soft, but these brushes are much better than the brushes I currently have!

Thanks EcoTools and thanks Alicia Silverstone!!

Vegan Christmas Shopping!

So... yes... I know what you're thinking... isn't it too early to be thinking about Christmas? Well, kind of. I've been SO busy lately and SO sad that I haven't been able to get to Vancouver to see Dan and Jay (and Noah!) that I might as well start planning for Christmas (when I get to see them!). So I started thinking about some great vegan-friendly gifts. I thought I would make a long, long list for those of you out there who are stumped at what to buy. I think these are great gift ideas for people who are vegans, vegetarians, green-conscious, or just anyone! Even if people haven't made it a priority in their life to make these choices, I'm sure they wouldn't mind (and they might even appreciate) gifts like these!

So here you go!

Vegan Christmas Gift and Present Ideas:

Online Shopping and Great Websites:

http://www.etsy.com/

Lots of homemade things to shop for (vegan and non, so make sure to search for vegan!)

http://www.vautecouture.com/index.htm

Quality winter/fall vegan coats and some really cute t's and necklaces!

http://www.hurrawbalm.com/hurraw/

The cutest vegan lip balms with creative 'flavours'! Chai Spice, Green Tea, Vanilla Bean... oh my!

http://www.veganstore.com/

http://www.cherrycrush.ca/

http://www.karmavore.ca/index.php

Lots of things here. A few things I thought were cute: Tofu Never Screams tote and Cow Hugger tote. A very cute diaper bag and really fun necklaces!

http://www.vegbelts.com/

If you're looking for great faux leather (really looks like leather!) belts or fabric belts then this is your store!

http://vivagranolaveganstore.com/catalog/index.php?language-en

http://www.vegangiftshop.com/

http://www.alternativeoutfitters.com/index.aspx

Books:

I'm sure vegans would appreciate all kinds of books!

Vegan-Related Subjects:

Eating Animals by Jonathan Safran Foer

Becoming Vegan: The complete Guide To Adopting a Healthy Plant-Based Diet by Brenda Davis

Vegan Freak: Being Vegan in a Non-Vegan World by Bob Torres

Vegan Cookbooks and Bakebooks:

The Veganomicon: The Ultimate Vegan Cookbook by Isa Chandra Moskowitz

Vegan Planet: 400 Irresistable Recipes with Fantastic Flavors from Home and Around the World by Robin Robertson

The Kind Diet by Alicia Silverstone

The Vegan Table by Colleen Patrick-Goudreau

The Thrive Diet by Brendan Brazier

Easy Vegan by Ryland Peters & Small

Vegan Cookies Invade Your Cookie Jar by Isa Chandra Moskowitz and Terry Hope Romero

Vegan, Vegetarian, Athletic, Health or Style Magazine Subscriptions!

Vegan Baking and/or Cooking:

For those friends and families who would don't have the time, creativity, or who just love food!

Batch of vegan cookies, breads, muffins or candy

Vegan food dishes (casseroles, salad dressings...)

Jars full of beans, specialty flours, grains or homemade dough/batter mixes

Fruit basket full of organic fruits (maybe throw in a few different or rare fruits)

Gift basket full of organic or fair trade teas, coffees and vegan chocolate (add in a few fun things like an eco-friendly water bottle, travel mug, mug or devices to brew loose tea)

Gift basket of organic olive oil, organic vinegar, organic pastas (I love soba noodles!), and cans of organic tomato sauces and spaghetti sauces

Gift baket of organic, vegan wine and vegan cheese

Grow your own sprouts kit, seeds and/or potted herbs

Vegan or vegan-friendly restaurant gift certificates

Cooking and Baking Supplies:

A few things for anyone tackling healthy, vegan (or non) dishes in the kitchen would love!

Slow Cooker

Food Processor

Mixers (stand, hand...)

Bread Maker

Food Dehydrator

Blender

Juicer

Spice rack (something fun and creative!) and Spice Containers

Soymilk maker (yes, they have these!)

Popcorn popper (include some organic popping corn!)

Pay for a weekly or monthly organic produce basket delivery (often available from local organic grocery stores... make sure they're local!)

Whole Foods, Organza or Planet Organic (or any local organic grocery store) gift certificate (I'm sure any younger families or students would appreciate this)

Other Ideas:

Reusable shopping bags (there are so many cute options these days!)

Vegan beauty products (any girl will love them!)

Donations to causes (any person should appreciate this. Make it fun... find out what cause would really mean something to them... make it personal!)

Hope you enjoyed all these ideas and let me know if you have any great ones!

A Saviour To Dry Hands!

Whenever I work in the school or wash my hands in public, if I don't bring my own soap (it's not always easy to carry around a bottle of soap with you while walking down the school hallways), I have to use the harsh soaps that destroys skin (but it's obviously better than being gross and not washing)! My hands get so incredibly dry and my skin cracks. It is so awful and painful! I have been prone to developing eczema in between my fingers whenever I use soaps that are full of irritants, additives and high pH levels which are not kind to our skin. I have tried endless hand lotions and they have done nothing...that is until I bought 'Dream Cream' by Aroma Crystal Vibrational Therapy. It is quite pricey ($26ish) but it really heals my hands and moisturizes them without using additives or Sodium Lauryl Sulphate.
What I look for when buying a product is to support a company that does not test their products on animals and Aroma Crystal Vibrational Therapy does NOT! YAY! No animal testing! They have also reduced their packaging, making it more environmentally friendly. There are so many unnecessary ingredients placed in products these days so it's really nice when you can find a reputable company that uses 100% essential oils, is environmentally friendly, doesn't test their product on animals and uses non-GMO ingredients. To me, this is worth paying a little more! Check-out their website at http://www.aromacrystal.com/

Burt's Bees

As time goes on I become more and more aware of not only what I'm putting into my body through food and drink, but also through things like skin care, cosmetics, personal hygiene and household cleaning products.

I think a lot of us believe that if a product is legally allowed to be sold in stores it must be pretty safe for our bodies, but that is definitely not true. It's hard to choose new, safe products though. In some cases they are hard to find, very expensive, or they just don't work as well as the products we're used to.

I was running through Sobey's (our grocery store) the other day and saw that they carried a few Burt's Bees products. I had heard a few better things about them and needed some new moisturizer, so I thought I would give them a try. I was also in need of a lip balm that actually worked and heard lots of good things about their lip balms.

I chose their lip balm that has a little pomegranate oil in it as I really distaste their original lip balm flavour. The lip balm had a little bit of that Menthol taste, but other than that, it wasn't too bad and it worked really well, I barely had to re-apply.

I decided to do a little more research. Both of these products worked well (the moisturizer smelled a lot like baby powder and although it was a very liquidy moisturizer, it did the job), but I wanted to see how safe they really were. I stumbled upon a great site:

Cosmetics Database: http://www.cosmeticsdatabase.com/

This website has a lot of products (not EVERY product/brand, but much more than other sites I've been to) and rates products on how harmful they are to your body. They go one step further and list why products are unsafe (cancer, developmental/reproductive toxicity, allergies, violations...) and then lists the specific ingredients in the product that are harmful and what the concerns are.

Burt's Bees Aloe & Buttermilk Lotion got a rating of 6, where:

0-2: low hazard

3-6: moderate hazard

7-10: high hazard

So, not the best (not all of Burt's Bees products, or lotions, are a 6, some are worse, but a lot have a better score). I'm still happy that I have this lotion to use instead of the Vaseline I usually use, which is worse (on this scale and because of another reason I will show you). I will search for better lotions in the future though. The lip balm I chose was not on this site, other lip balms were and tested from a 2-4, so overall not too bad.

I think it's great to check on most of the products you use, just to be more aware, even if you only change a few products, I think it makes a difference. I also noticed a few well-known natural, organic brands (that are sold at local organic stores) that should be very safe, have some products testing at very unsafe levels of 8! So, be sure to check out some of the things you use daily.

I also stumbled upon a few other great sites:

Campaign for Safe Cosmetics: http://www.safecosmetics.org/

Looking at another aspect of cosmetics, other than safe ingredients, would be how they are produced. I am definitely an animal lover (and I know Jay is too!) and so I am very interested if the products I'm using are animal cruelty free. I found this great site:

Caring Consumer: http://www.caringconsumer.com/index.asp

If you click on Info for Consumers, and then Consumer Products (on the left-hand side) and then Search for Cruelty-Free Products and Companies (on the left as well) you are able to search for products or companies that do not test on animals, but you are also able to search those companies and products that DO test on animals. It lists on the site, that the section on companies/products that "do test on animals" includes both companies that manufacture animal-tested products and brands that are owned by companies that have not yet adopted a permanent "no animal testing" policy.

One reason I'm happy that I'm not using my Vaseline lotion anymore.... it's on the DO list (along with a LOT of companies that are used daily by most people)... so please check this site out!

If anyone is looking for a natural, vegan lipstick, there is a Canadian made affordable brand online! Each lipstick is $8.99 and there is free shipping.

Cherry Crush: http://www.cherrycrush.ca/index.html

Has anyone switched from their normal (harmful) products, to some more safe brands?